La Côte Saint-Jacques

What began as a small boarding house, founded by Marie Lorain in 1945, has grown and evolved over the years into something quite extraordinary: today La Côte Saint-Jacques is a highly regarded restaurant and an exquisitely refined small hotel, overseen all along the way by subsequent generations of the Lorain family. The experience is a luxurious one, to be sure, but it’s one with plenty of personal touches and residential character, offering the pleasing impression of staying in the home of well-heeled French hosts.

Its rooms and suites, like the restaurant’s famous dining room and terrace, overlook the river Yonne and the forested hills on the other side. Many have private patios to make the most of the bucolic Burgundy landscape. The design, by Karine Lorain, employs luxurious materials and bright yet harmonous colors to great effect, alongside large-format wildlife photographs by Jean-Michel.

The restaurant, under the direction of Jean-Michel Lorain and Alexandre Bondoux, has been recognizes with a pair of MICHELIN Stars (and a Green Star). Breakfast is elegantly presented in a riverside setting, or brought to one’s room or balcony; cooking classes may be arranged on request. Meanwhile a light-filled two-level spa with a hammam and heated indoor pool is a relaxed place to recover from vineyard visits and multi-course meals.